Nationwide, the latest research claims 84% of wildfires are human-caused . . .
Wildfires can start when lightning strikes or when someone fails to put out a campfire. New research shows that people start a lot more fires than lightning does — so much so that people are drastically altering wildfire in America.
Fire ecologist Melissa Forder says about 60 percent of fires in national parks are caused by humans: “intentionally set fires, buildings burning and spreading into the forest, smoking, equipment malfunctions and campfires.”
But the average for all forests is even higher. The latest research shows that nationwide, humans cause more than 8 in 10 — 84 percent.
Additional reading:
– Humans sparked 84 percent of US wildfires, increased fire season over two decades (Science Daily)
– Human-started wildfires expand the fire niche across the United States (original publication in PNAS)